The Geometry of Vanished Souls
by Razorclaw X
Summary: The observer from 'Shattered Souls' attempts to undo the events that create Crystal Tokyo....


Sailor Moon: **The Geometry of Vanished Souls**

Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)   
http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/sm/index.html 

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and characters belong to Naoko   
Takeuchi. Proper licenses belong to respective properties and   
characters. The manga has precedence over material in the   
anime. 

This file can be freely distributed so long as it appears   
in its complete form and proper credit. No part may be   
reproduced for monetary gain without permission from the   
author (to which the answer is probably "no"). 

Author's Note: It is recommended that you at least have   
seen the end of Sailor Moon's Black Moon story arc (Sailor   
Moon R in Japan), otherwise known as the Negamoon story in   
North America. Knowledge of the manga story counterpart is   
a bonus, and more enlightening. 

This follows the previous story, '_The Geometry of Shattered_   
_Souls_,' which can be found at: 

http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/sm/smff0.txt 

---------------------------------------------------- 

_Death Space_

Death has no perception of time. 

If, in fact, the act of dying could be called 'fair,' then   
the lives of the Black Moon Family should have been balanced by   
the death of one Sailor Pluto. 

But, in fact, their deaths were meaningless-- all of them. 

The Family... Prince Diamond, Sapphire, Rubeus, Emerald-- the   
leaders-- all their deaths were meaningless. All four managed   
to find a way of their own to oppose my will, and all four paid   
the price, either at my own hands or that of the Sailor Senshi.   
Prince Diamond, deluded as he was with power, believed he could   
conquer the past Tokyo in order to conquer future Crystal Tokyo,   
where, if he were smart enough, he would have tried to UNDO his   
future. He believed he could seduce Neo Queen Serenity into his   
power, a futile gesture as the others and I advised many times.   
He believed he could harm ME! 

Diamond was the biggest fool of them all. I remember when he,   
Sapphire, and Rubeus, made their trek to my remote abode on the   
dark tenth planet of the Sol system, Nemesis. As with those who   
came before the young arrogant sorcerer, I gave him power-- with   
a price. All power has a price, and Diamond paid it with his   
life. 

Strange, that most power-mad people end up so dead. 

The price for being the Wiseman of Nemesis was my humanity. 

I never asked for the power I developed during my exile to   
Nemesis, but it was thrust onto me nevertheless. I, as with Neo   
Queen Serenity, have a destiny to fulfill-- a destiny ordained   
long ago, during the heyday of the Moon Kingdom of yore, in the   
final days of the once-mighty Black Moon Kingdom. It was this   
ancient civilization's most powerful weapon and artifact that   
chose me to return the favor to the Moon: the Black Crystal. 

In my hand the Black Crystal is but a shadow of its greater   
glory; resembling a set of spike-like crystals jutting out of   
the nucleus, forming a ball of black menace, the Black Crystal   
was now no larger than the golfball-sized Silver Crystal,   
its wicked counterpart. The Black Crystal, when infused with   
power, grew larger, and while I was in the region of pure energy,   
the artifact was quite spent. Most, but not all, of its power   
was expended in the final battle against Neo Queen Serenity and   
her Senshi-- by all rights I should have defeated them, being   
infused with death power, but the princess possessed her own   
Silver Crystal. Against two Silver Crystals, one from the past,   
the Black Crystal and I realized we would lose, and, though   
nearly destroying us both, we managed to survive-- but barely.   
I am sure our 'destruction' totally convinced the Queen and her   
Senshi, because it sure convinced me. 

But, then, Death cannot be killed, can it? 

Make no mistake, the Crystal and myself were indeed destroyed.   
However, my choice of an energy source proved to be what saved   
my essence from obliteration-- the Black Gate's death energy.   
Had I thought it through the first time, I would've patted   
myself on the back, because now that my essence became infused   
with death energy, I found the greatest boon of all. 

Sailor Pluto's dead essence. 

I learned a great deal from Pluto, the Guardian of Time. I   
learned more of the Moon Kingdom before its destruction, the   
reincarnation of the royal court, and the myriad women who took   
up the 'office' of Sailor Pluto, for, in fact, the singular   
being known as Sailor Pluto was a series of people rather than   
one person. What made them all one person, however, was the   
fact that upon assuming the identity, all previous knowledge   
passed to her. 

Consequently, I could be considered the next Pluto-- and   
rightfully so, for Pluto is the name of the Roman god of the   
underworld. 

This last Pluto, it turned out, was well over a thousand years   
old, since she stopped aging after the... disaster of 1999. She   
knew those events well, because she was one of those instrumental   
in causing the storm that would change my life forever. And now   
that she was dead, and her knowledge was mine, I knew as well.   


_Gate of Time, 30th Century_

Expending much energy in opening a gate large enough to pass   
through, I appeared at the unguarded Gate of Time. It was but   
mere moments after my own destruction that I appeared here, for Neo   
Queen Serenity would never think to look for me so soon. And yet, I   
had to act quickly, for they would be arriving at the Gate soon, to   
return all to their respective times. 

That was okay; I would only need but a moment to get to where I   
wanted to go. 

I focused my will on the crystal ball that floated effortlessly   
between my hands, and searched my essence for the proper temporal   
tuning I would require to make it to my destination. It seemed to   
take much time, but in reality it took only a half of a second   
before I found it. 

The wispy clouds within the hand-made crystal ball transformed,   
morphed, and congealed into the shape of a stylistic key-- one that   
would unlock the Gate to my proper destination. Lightning lashed   
out from the crystal ball, ending its lance a mere half meter from   
my location, forming the three-dimensional shape of the key. I   
willed the newly-formed key toward the gate, thrust it into   
the keyhole, and turned it. 

The Guardian of Time was required to fashion keys in order to get   
from one time to another, and one key only traveled to one point of   
time. This was how the Senshi of the past came to the future, and   
this was how they were going to go back, too. Though it crossed my   
mind to waylay them here, at the Gate, I realized how foolish that   
would have been, for they still would have access to two Silver   
Crystals, and I, in my weakened state, could not hope to beat them. 

The Gate opened before me, to a time so long ago, that it may as   
well have been another lifetime. 

While the key dematerialized back to my crystal ball, I   
paused to gaze at what I saw before me: Tokyo, of the Twentieth   
Century. Its golden radiance of the dawning morning, the high   
spire of the Tokyo Tower, the Imperial Palace, the highways and   
byways, the cars, trains, and boats... it was at once a sight   
for sore eyes, and something I could never touch again. All of   
those things I yearned for since the cold storm, since Neo Queen   
Serenity's hostile takeover of the world, and I could not have   
any of it. My time had long since passed for such nostalgia,   
however. 

For now, there was only my duty to attend to, and I will see   
to it until the end. 

I floated my robed form through the Gate, and millions upon   
millions of senses bombarded me at once-- of people being born,   
living, and dying... of happiness and sadness... of everything. 

Everything of all existance assailed me.   


_June 30, 1999_

When the floodgates closed, I materialized in a dark alley,   
somewhere in the middle of Tokyo's business district, and the   
morning light had not touched this area yet. The point of   
destination was hardly random, I knew; it was determined in the   
subconscious of the traveler, and somewhere I knew I needed to be   
quite inconspicuous. 

After all, it would not do to walk in Tokyo's streets the way I   
appear now. 

I heard a sudden gasp behind me. Craning my head over my shoulder,   
I spied a tramp of a man, dressed in ragged, torn clothes, and   
reeked of a bad alcohol, but that was obviously not all he reeked   
of. Apparently, this man had likely seen my materialization, and   
was about a couple seconds from bolting when I looked at him. 

But it took only one second to hold him fast with my gaze. 

Though there was no danger to myself if he ran off to tell others,   
for many would think him drunk, I found two reasons to hold   
this man. One, there was the off-chance he could warn the Sailor   
Senshi of my presence, if indirectly. I did not need them breathing   
down my neck, not so soon, not until I was ready for them. And   
two... well, I needed to travel freely through Tokyo, and the   
opportunity presented itself. 

I turned fully to face the now-sober man, and floated closer. 

"You are a most fortunate man," I told him, "because not only will   
I not kill you, but you can serve a greater purpose. My own." 

Had I left the man with the ability to speak in his paralysis, I'm   
sure he would have screamed in terror. 

I quietly incanted the spell that sucked the terrified man's soul   
into my crystal ball, leaving his body a lifeless husk. In turn, my   
own body collapsed on itself, folding in impossible ways,   
ultimately becoming one with the crystal ball, leaving only that   
and the paralyzed body. 

My essence slowly floated the crystal ball to the standing body.   
The paralyzed man, soulless, reached out and grabbed my crystal ball. 

For the first time in a long time, I could see out of a real set   
of eyes. I caressed the crystal ball with my hands, the image of a   
death's head forming within. Using the crystal ball as a guide, I   
carefully fashioned a new image for myself, one that would suit the   
past world, sculpting my skin and clothes as if it were clay, being   
careful not to appear too similar to my past self all the while. 

When I was through I stood a full two meters tall, a Japanese man   
with a face of sternness, dressed in a black business suit. I   
looked nothing as I did before (as the drunk), and my guise would   
be perfect except for the fact that I would still look strange if I   
carried around a crystal ball. 

Spinning a web of cantrips, the crystal ball I fashioned so long   
ago shrunk in size, down to the size of a marble. I formed a chain   
from the pedestal, then fastened the ball around my neck as a   
necklace. Satisfied, I tucked the ball into my shirt, and, with   
confidence, stepped out into the streets. 

The deposed soul within the crystal ball, trapped along with my   
own essence, tried desperately to escape. Since I refused to deal   
with such a minor annoyance in the future, I decided to take care of   
the soul now. With mercilessness, I bombarded the man's soul with   
terrifying images designed to humble him into silence-- images of   
the apocalypse yet to come and beyond. 

Satisfied with myself, I set off in the direction of the Tokyo   
Tower. In that location, was the beginning of the end.   


By the timetable I knew of the events, it would still be another   
six hours before the Senshi would arrive at the Tower to set off the   
chain of events that would bring about the cold storm. I stood at   
the topmost floor available to the public eye, staring down at the   
city below from the rail, reciting everything over and over again. 

I realized it was arrogant of me to try to prevent my own creation   
at the last minute, but this was the only time I could come to the   
past and not be driven mad with homesickness. There is no way I   
could possibly stay for very long, and I needed to take care of it   
quickly. 

There was so much I wanted to do in the space of the six hours--   
return to Kyoto and talk with my old collegues, send a message to   
my fiancee, call and warn myself and my parents... but I knew none of   
that would be possible. After all, I'm no longer the man I was-- I   
am the Wiseman of Nemesis, Death Incarnate, the Chosen Champion of   
the Black Crystal. Perhaps THAT was arrogant of me, but I knew it all   
to be true. In a previous life, I refused to believe in destiny,   
magic, or ancient kingdoms in our solar system-- but that was all it   
was: a previous life. 

But, if there was one thing I did learn from my previous existance,   
it was that destiny can be cheated. 

I was once a scientist-- to me, nothing was determined by fate,   
but by random chance. In my time on Nemesis, destiny was   
predetermined; something that always would happen, no matter the   
cost. And today, it is in the middle, for destiny was the prevailing   
'chance' of chances, but it could be guided. I learned this lesson   
from Neo Queen Serenity and her Senshi, for they cheated the   
destruction of Crystal Tokyo by summoning the soldiers of the past   
into the future. They cheated the Silence by bringing forth a second   
Silver Crystal. They cheated the Cleansing and the Purity by saving   
the reviled Crystal Tokyo from the Black Moon Family. 

All that was ordained as destiny by the Black Crystal was cheated,   
save one. 

The only constant maintained by the Black Crystal was the one   
thing that gave my existance meaning-- the ascension of humanity. In   
my time on Nemesis, I became the first to realize that ascension,   
when I discarded my decayed body to become a gaseous, energy being--   
the essence of myself. There was no need to eat, sleep, or worry   
about diseases or debilitating accidents, for I was without form   
which to suffer those ailments. I am the first of the ascension, and   
I certainly would not be the last. 

If I must, I will force the evolution of humanity. 

But, first thing was first. I realized I was hungry when 'my'   
stomach growled. Checking my watch, I decided that I had enough time   
to get myself a bite to eat. Reaching for 'my' wallet, I fanned-out   
a wad of yen, the bulk of which was probably spent on alcohol, but   
there was enough to get a decent lunch. And I knew just where to go. 

While I had hardly spent much time in Tokyo in my previous life,   
I still remembered the place I liked. Striding confidently toward the   
elevator, only thoughts of yakisoba and okonomiyaki filled my   
mind.   


Being a native of the Kansai region, naturally I knew just what I   
was getting when I sat down in the okonomiyaki shop. The fact that   
I was getting fried noodles with my okonomiyaki alone gave away to   
the chef that I was from that area, even if my voice didn't. While   
she cooked up the okonomiyaki, we got into a small chat about   
'home' in the west. While most of what I related to the chef was   
part of my previous existance, I found myself genuinely enjoying   
her company. 

When my order was finished, I quickly grabbed my chopsitcks, and   
pulled off the first bite. 

During my time on Nemesis, there was no real need to eat, and thus   
I forgot the pleasure of eating good food until now. The sauce   
was absolutely perfect in my mind, and a taste that I had not felt   
in ages overcame me. I'm sure the chef was completely happy with my   
reaction, but for some reason I think she always got that kind of   
response from her work. 

Too soon, I had finished my order, and I pulled out another wad   
of yen to order yet another okonomiyaki. 

For the space of an hour, I forgot about all my troubles and   
burdens, my grudges and duties, my desires and passions, giving them   
all up to enjoy the company of those in the okonomiyaki shop, the   
food, and the chef. Everything I troubled myself with over the past   
centuries became nothing, as only the moment mattered, and that was   
staying in the shop and enjoying my first meal in a long time. 

After finishing my second order, I turned around, and scanned the   
rest of the shop, taking in faces, all smiles. I stopped, recognizing   
one man who, in my previous existance, had been a part of a team   
of rebels during Neo Queen Serenity's conquest. I did not know the   
name of the man personally, but I knew he was a military man-- an   
occupation that was phased-out under Serenity's tyranny; one of many   
who lost their jobs and purposes under her New World Order. 

It was this that brought me out of my nostalgic reverie. 

Excusing myself politely to the chef and the guests who served as   
my friends for the day, I left the remainder of my money on the   
counter, knowing full-well that I would never need money again. 

I walked out of the okonomiyaki shop over the protests of the   
chef about not being able to accept the tip, and headed back toward   
the Tokyo Tower. There was still much to do.   


During my stay on Nemesis, the Black Moon Family created   
artificial sentient life called 'droids.' The origins of these   
droids, I knew, were rooted when lust-crazed men, wanting for a   
good session of sex, created a playtoy. Yes, droids were originally   
sex toys, but the more reasonable Family used them for day-to-day   
tasks. Eventually, when Prince Diamond became leader of the Family,   
he ordered the mass production of an invasion army-- an army to be   
used to conquer Crystal Tokyo. 

Though most droids served as mindless drones, several inventive   
scientists developed droids with superior AIs and personalities;   
these became the captains of the armies, and special task agents.   
Though I hardly had any reason, I once created a droid of my own,   
fashioned in the image of the Grim Reaper, designed to prey on the   
psyche of enemies. This droid, Jarkoku, was far superior to other   
droids, as he grew a strong personality, and became one of Prince   
Diamond's most valuable agents. He was one of the few droids that   
was treated on an equal footing with Humans. 

Too bad he was destroyed. 

It was in this template that I began to fashion a set of agents of   
my own. Though this new series of droids hardly had enough time to   
develop on their own, the six reapers I had should be more than   
enough to deal with the myriad Sailor Senshi that would not be busy   
dealing with their preordained opponents. 

Leaving Serenity-- Sailor Moon-- to me, of course. 

Two hours before Chaos begins. 

It was the belief of Sailor Pluto, and perhaps of the Queen, that   
Chaos was the ultimate evil in the universe. Perhaps they were   
right, but I could not see how, for chaos in of itself is not evil.   
Chaos is simply the opposing force of Order, which is, I assume,   
what Queen Serenity represents, so naturally, Chaos personified would   
be her foe. 

I have never seen or met Chaos myself, but it is believed that he   
has no determinant form-- true to his name. They say he appears in   
a form as seen by the eye of the beholder; almost never the same to   
two different people. They believed it was he who spawned the   
greatest evils, and they believed, upon his destruction, that it   
would all end. 

Chaos was gone for all intents and purposes, but he left a legacy. 

Prophecized long ago, after Chaos' ultimate defeat at the hands   
of the old Queen Serenity, it was believed that five spawn, dubbed   
the Children of Chaos, would appear, and bring disaster to fill the   
vacuum in the eternal balance. The first of these Children was born   
in the Tau Ceti system, and became known as Pharoah 90. A living   
force of chaos, Pharoah 90 commanded a force of daemons, and   
ultimately reducing Tau Ceti into a galactic icy wasteland-- his   
power was unmatched. Even the Moon Kingdom feared to speak of him,   
as the Senshi who were sent to battle Chaos' First were never   
heard from again. 

Chaos' Second was a much smaller energy being called Zirconia.   
While Pharoah 90 encompassed Chaos' almighty power, Zircona   
encompassed Chaos' dreadful cunning. She was even in a position of   
power in relation to the Moon Kingdom, but was eventually ousted,   
but not destroyed. 

Chaos' Third was Metallia, a shadowy, black creature. She was   
arguably the weakest of the Children, I would say, because her   
encompassed power was that of Chaos' passion. Metallia would drive   
at her enemies directly, consuming a massive amount of energy in   
wasted efforts just to get more. However, it is noted that it was   
she who ultimately brought about the downfall of the Moon Kingdom,   
as she took control of Earth Kingdom's most powerful sorceress and   
generals. 

The Fourth was what would appear today. With Chaos' effective   
destruction at the hands of Eternal Sailor Moon and Sailor Galaxia,   
the new Children would encompass Chaos himself themselves. The   
Senshi hardly knew this new enemy, for he, instead of sending forth   
minions to do battle, wished to directly confront the champions of   
Order. It was he that would be the reason the Senshi created the   
cold storm. He was called Vizier. 

With Fourth's ultimate destruction, there was left but one final   
Chaos Child, and Neo Queen Serenity of my time identified that   
final form as myself, the Wiseman of Nemesis. It was ironic, that   
she was the one who created the new Chaos. They can believe what   
they want, but I am nothing of Chaos-- I am my own person, and I am   
the Wiseman, nothing more. 

And yet, I find myself becoming the opposing force to Neo Queen   
Serenity all the time. 

I produced the Black Crystal, observing its faint glow. If I had   
the time, I would have gone through town sucking out energy, but   
that would prematurely alert the Senshi to my presence, and I wanted   
to keep it a secret until the last moment. Yet, I felt what I had   
would be enough to match Eternal Sailor Moon's Silver Crystal, but   
I had my reservations about that. If I could not defeat her, then   
Vizier would definitely unleash his wrath on Earth. 

If I got to Sailor Moon first, then Vizier was mine to destroy.   
When I have it my way, there will never be a Crystal Tokyo.   


A freak thunderstorm heralded the coming of the final battle. 

From my vantage point at the top of the Tokyo Tower, the largest   
lightning rod in the area, I could make out several sailor-suited   
girls heading my way. 

Of course it was the Senshi. Who else could it be? 

Turning to the six Jarkoku replicas, I said, "They are all yours   
to deal with. But allow Eternal Sailor Moon to make it to the top." 

All six droids nodding in unison, they vanished into thin air. 

Well, actually, they just moved faster than my eyes could detect. 

I turned to look over the railing again, but this time, my eyes   
were fixed to the sky. Vizier was about to arrive, and the Sailor   
Senshi were supposed to come to the Tokyo Tower to confront him in   
one grand battle. 

Of course, time is going to take a different track now. 

I waited patiently, with the Black Crystal in my palm, sucking   
in all the excess energy residue generated from the battles below   
me. The six droids, I knew, were doing exactly as I instructed,   
and with deadly precision. They have successfully isolated Eternal   
Sailor Moon from the other Senshi. Her soldiers were urging her to   
go on ahead, as was her future husband. 

It is wonderful what advanced AI can do, especially since I knew   
what would happen before the battle even started, and made   
allocations for that. 

The elevator behind me slid open, and I knew my opponent had   
arrived. 

In obvious surprise and shock, Eternal Sailor Moon stuttered,   
"Y... you're not Vizier...!" 

I smirked as I turned to face my opponent. Appearing far   
different from when I last remembered, Eternal Sailor Moon was   
far more radiant and beautiful than before-- an obvious effect of   
her narcissic speeches. She had the same determination in her   
eyes, however. 

"No," I answered, "I am not Vizier." 

"You'd better get out of here," she warned, "because things   
could get a little rough up here." 

"I know all too well," I said in reply. For a flickering   
moment, I allowed my eyes to glow. 

She stepped back defensively. "Who are you?!" 

When I held out the Black Crystal in my hand, it was all the   
answer Sailor Moon needed. 

"T...that's impossible!" she exclaimed. "We destroyed the   
Black Crystal...." 

"In the future, yes...." 

Quickly, I discarded the flesh, as my essence burst from my   
crystal ball. My familiar cloaked form congealed into shape, as   
the crystal ball returned to its original form. The Black Crystal   
levitated before me as the body I'd stolen collapesed lifelessly   
below me. 

"Wiseman!" 

"Your pathetic Silver Crystals merely defeated me and the   
Black Crystal," I gloated over her, "not destroyed." I   
grasped the Black Crystal in my left hand. "Now that I know the   
truth, you AND Vizier will perish here!" 

I blasted her with dark energies, but Sailor Moon was proving   
far more powerful than I anticipated-- in fact, a lot more   
powerful than before. She dodged quickly... far too quickly.   
Silently, I cursed myself, having forgotten to compensate for   
her relative growth levels. During the second blast the soldier   
of love and justice already whipped out her magic wand, and was   
countering my dark magic with her own light magic. 

"How can this be?!" wondered Sailor Moon as we traded shots   
at each other. "You can't be here!" 

I ignored the question, trying to concentrate on getting a   
good shot in while absorbing residue energies to power up the   
Black Crystal. Performing both tasks was taxing on my willpower,   
but was necessary.... 

But, time was not on my side, and the battle was taking far   
too long. 

Pouring extra energy into a single blast, I managed to force   
Sailor Moon to erect a counter shot barrier. If I had real teeth   
to grit, I'd be doing it now. And yet, the girl was holding her   
ground. 

"Accept your fate and perish!" I demanded. 

"Not to any evil such as yourself!" she shouted back. 

Time was running out. 

"Give up now, and leave me to Vizier!" 

"No way! I won't let you harm the Earth again!" 

"Fool! YOU'RE the one who harms the planet more than I!" 

"Liar! Your evil tricks won't work on me!" 

And then, time was up. 

A bolt of lightning, strangely ignoring the metal spire of the   
Tokyo Tower, instead chose to blast the area between me and Sailor   
Moon. 

Descending from the sky over the Tokyo Tower was a creature   
of nightmare. Hardly larger than a bus, the creature was humanoid   
in all but his lower quarters-- there were no lower quarters to   
speak of. The creature had two sets of heads: one in the usual   
place, the other embedded in his chest. His two large, sinewy   
arms ended in five taloned fingers, which looked as if it could   
rip through steel as if it were paper. All four eyes glowed   
malevolently with bloodlust, and Vizier, the Fourth, had made his   
entrance. 

Vizier's eyes passed from me to Sailor Moon. 

"Vizier...." whispered Sailor Moon. 

"You," the Fourth said, pointing to the girl, "the champion of   
light and justice... dare to oppose the Chaos." Now, pointing to   
me, he said, "You, the champion of darkness and death... dare to   
oppose your own." 

"The Chaos Plague is not for this world," I informed Vizier.   
"Leave now, or never set your eyes on another world again." 

It was for this reason alone that Vizier traveled from world to   
world in his reign of terror. Like Pharoah 90 before him,   
Vizier's goal was to wipe out planets, but instead of outright   
genocide the Fourth unleashed a deadly virus that was under his   
control. Dubbed the Chaos Plague, Vizier directs the virus to   
eliminate whatever lives on the unfortunate planet he happens to   
visit. Vizier only remained on a single planet for no more than a   
few days, to guarantee the spread of the plague, allowing it to   
act on its own. 

The creature rumbled in laughter. "You fool, it has already   
begun! There will be Silence on this world!" 

I started to say something, but stopped, when I realized two   
crucuial points in Vizier's words. While Sailor Moon went about on   
her own spiel, I had two points to ponder for about fifteen   
seconds. One, the Fourth mentioned the beginning, which meant that   
the plague had already started. And two.... 

The Silence. 

The Purity.... 

The Cleansing. 

While the battle raged around me, I became consumed with this   
maddening thought. Vizier, if unwittingly, has managed to sow   
discord into his enemies-- or, at least, one of them. The word   
kept repeating in my head... the world I had used many times   
before to describe my own quest... the 'Silence.' 

No. What needed to be Silenced was the wretched soldiers of   
the Moon, and their bastard Crystal Tokyo regime. 

"I am the master of my own power," I rumbled, almost ignored   
by the Fourth and the girl. "Yes... there will be a Silence...   
and there will be a Cleansing... and there will be Purity...." 

Blasting dark energy through my crystal ball, the black   
lightning lanced into Vizier's side. "You will be Silenced!" 

Not surpisingly, Vizier could divide his attentions, having   
two heads. The side I was aiming for already threw its own   
dark blast toward my own, while the other part was dealing with   
the girl. 

The fool. 

The moment I allowed my blast to dissipate Vizier's blast   
fired directly toward me. However, to the Fourth's surprise, I   
was not harmed... no. Instead, the blast was fueling the   
Black Crystal I held. Exactly as planned. 

A single, red rose was all that was necessary to get myself   
blasted, as the Black Crystal flew from my hand. 

My physical essence shattered, the failsafes in my crystal   
ball erected themselves, protecting it with the most powerful   
wards and cantrips possible. As I began the reconstruction of   
my physical form, I cursed the fool in the tuxedo. As my hands   
were being reconstructed, I sent them out, feeling for the   
Black Crystal. As soon as my eyes reformed, I found the   
discarded Crystal, next to the rose that forced me to drop it. 

The first thing I did as soon as my physical form was   
complete was blast Tuxedo Kamen off the tower. 

"Wiseman!" I heard Sailor Moon shout, just before Vizier's   
blast beaned her in the stomach. 

"I'll deal with YOU later!" I snarled angrily. 

"Your squabble only serves my purpose, Dark One," Vizier   
taunted. "Even as we speak the spores are descending upon the   
Earth, and when they crack...." 

"You won't be there to direct them!" I threw another blast of   
dark energy, but Vizier laughed it off, deflecting the blast   
with a reflective shield. 

"It's too late for you, Fifth," the creature said. "You defy   
the Father by defying the Son; your sentence is Death." 

"I belong to no one! And your threat is empty, for I AM Death!" 

But the threat sounded quite hollow, for it was then I realized   
that Vizier was merely distracting me while conjuring his most   
deadly attack yet. My dark blast spashed harmlessly against a   
concave barrier, and I noted the same for Sailor Moon. A couple   
more blasts later, the Fourth was laughing, and it was then I   
realized that he somehow managed to create some kind of bubble   
around me and my annoying counterpart. 

And there was no one else to contest Vizier anymore. Perhaps   
it was a mistake to get rid of Tuxedo Kamen in such a manner. 

"Did you truly believe you could defeat me?" Vizier asked   
rhetorically, to no one in particular. "Did you truly believe   
you could defy the Chaos?!" 

Power must have gotten into Eternal Sailor Moon's head,   
because I tuned her out as she started spouting more of her   
'good-guy' spiel. Trapped in Vizier's bubble-like prison,   
quite ignored by the Fourth, I was left to ponder my actions,   
and I came to the conclusion that I made a really large   
mistake. 

I should never have come back in time in the first place. 

While I was realizing this, Vizier had already turned his   
attentions away from Moon and myself, and began ascending the   
tower once more, probably to throw more spores into the   
atmosphere. 

For all the knowledge I ripped from Sailor Pluto's mind,   
the one thing I didn't know was how exactly the turn of events   
surrounding the Chaos Plague would occur. In my rash attempt   
to curb these events I effectively caused them to happen, and   
now it was too late to stop the Plague, one way or another. 

Either way, Vizier must pay. 

"Wiseman," I heard Moon say, "what are you doing here?! I   
thought we destroyed you in the future; you can't exist now!" 

I laughed. "Destroy me? Hardly." If I had the room to conjure   
images, I would have done so, but Vizier's prison prevented   
this. "When the Black Gate was cast open, an unlimited source of   
dark energy was made available to the Black Crystal. Despite   
that, your desperate attack with your Silver Crystals forced the   
Black Crystal, and myself, through the Gate, just before it   
collapsed." 

"Then how did you get back here?" 

"You know just as well as I. Though the Gate collapsed, time   
does not flow in Death Space, and therefore I was still able to   
leave it and return to this dimension. But, before leaving, I   
learned much from your departed Sailor Pluto." 

I held up my crystal ball so Sailor Moon could see the pained   
expression of Pluto's face. "I hold her soul; I read her   
thoughts. With the Gate of Time unguarded for a brief moment,   
I was able to come to this time." 

"Pluto?" Moon repeated to herself. Forcing determination into   
her voice, she shouted, "Let her go!" 

"The Silver Crystal first," I demanded. 

"No way!" 

"I told you long ago that crystal would destroy this world,"   
I said, gesturing out to the city below the tower, "and this is   
just the beginning." 

"Liar!" 

"If it were not for your Silver Crystal Vizier would never   
have come in the first place!" I pointed out. "Didn't you ever   
wonder why the Children of Chaos threaten the planet?" 

"They wanted the Silver Crystal," Moon realized. "That's what   
ALL of you've been after!" 

"That crystal is a harbringer of doom; it brings death and   
destruction to those around it, and will continue to do so   
until the day it is destroyed." 

"Without that crystal Earth would be devestated!" 

"WITH that crystal Earth has suffered ecological disaster!" 

"WITHOUT that crystal Earth would be enslaved by Metallia!" 

"WITH that crystal Earth will be destroyed." 

I produced the Black Crystal. "The counterpart of the Silver   
Crystal from another solar system. This artifact was created to   
counter your crystal by the rival Black Moon Kingdom. In the   
end, that civilization was destroyed because of the Black   
Crystal; the civilization depended highly upon it for victory   
beyond reason, and was crushed by your Senshi. YOUR Moon Kingdom   
was destroyed because of the Silver Crystal." 

"Liar! It was Metallia who destroyed it!" 

"But who birthed Metallia but the Silver Crystal?" 

"She was born from Chaos!" 

"And who crushed Chaos, which effectively birthed Metallia?   
The Silver Crystal, wielded by your mother, Serenity!" 

"Chaos would've destroyed everything!" 

"Chaos was never born until the Silver Crystal was! Your   
Silver Crystal was created to harness the force of Order; that   
much you know. But, Order is never without Chaos-- a duality of   
existence-- and damned yourselves by embracing only HALF the   
existence." 

"When the Silver Crystal, the embodiment of Order, was created,   
the living embodiment of Chaos was born," I concluded, laying out   
everything plainly for the naive girl. 

"Why should I believe you?" she yelled defiantly. 

Obviously, she didn't believe me. I told her, "I'm lying." 

Without another word, I raised the Black Crystal to the border   
of Vizier's prison, and pricked it. 

POP! 

The energy of the prison bubble absorbed into the Black Crystal,   
I was once again free to roam the earth. I looked above, to where   
Vizier perched himself at the peak of the Tokyo Tower, then to   
Sailor Moon, who still lay stupidly trapped in her prison bubble. 

Gliding closer with the Black Crystal in hand, I said, "Unlike   
your Silver Crystal, the Black Crystal can absorb energy, thus   
allowing me to escape such a simple trap." 

To her surprise, I touched the artifact to her prison bubble,   
and soon Eternal Sailor Moon was free. 

And standing there, staring stupidly at me. "Wiseman...?" 

"So far the course of the future is unaltered," I told her.   
"And, it may well be that it can never be altered. Though I   
have no love for you or your Crystal Tokyo.... We must keep   
destiny on track now." 

"Vizier must not be allowed to survive," she guessed. 

"Agreed. For the first time."   


There was nothing more to be said; nothing more to do than   
eliminate Vizier, Fourth Child of Chaos. 

Rocketing into the sky, side-by-side, Eternal Sailor Moon   
and I prepared for the final battle in an unholy alliance. 

I held out the Black Crystal, and the girl likewise with   
her own Crystal, focusing energies. 

No words needed to pass between us, for we both knew what   
we had to do. 

Vizier, floating atop the pinnacle of the Tokyo Tower,   
stared down at us, surprise in the chest face, and anger in   
his head's face. He pointed both his palms downward toward   
us, gathering dark energies. Black lightning crackled and   
danced around his fingertips. 

"The destiny of your world cannot be fought!" the monster   
bellowed. "Your world is doomed!" 

Black lightning lanced down toward the two of us, but we   
never halted in our ascent. Using the Black Crystal I   
absorbed the blast, while the Silver Crystal reflected the   
dark energies, true to the artifacts' natures. 

We leveled ourselves evenly with Vizier, who gathered   
his dark energies together in order to focus one dark blast. 

"Fools, die!" 

Adjusting the angle of the Silver Crystal, Sailor Moon   
oriented the facets in such a manner as to bounce the dark   
energy off her crystal, and directed it toward me. 

What was happening was this: the Silver Crystal, while   
reflecting the blast, was also amplifying the effects. My   
Black Crystal was absorbing a greater energy output than   
what Vizier was putting out, and my power grew rapidly as   
the artifact grew in size. 

It was far too late when Vizier realized what we were   
doing. 

Forcing all the absorbed energies within the Black Crystal   
forth like opening a floodgate, black lightning shot   
toward the Silver Crystal. Utilizing the same path that   
Vizier used, the blast reflected off the surface of the   
Silver Crystal, and headed straight for Vizier. 

In a matter of moments, the battle had turned around. 

"This can't be!" screamed the Fourth. "I... I... can't be   
beaten...!" 

Darkness imploded on itself.   


Strangely enough, it was the combined efforts of light and   
dark that destroyed Vizier. 

Eventually, the Sailor Senshi destroyed all of my droids,   
and Tuxedo Kamen recovered, but none of that mattered.   
After a few tense words passed, it was pointed out that   
destiny was being put on course, and there was much work to   
be done. 

True to form, the Chaos Plague was designed to selectively-   
adapt to whatever species it came in contact with. It was   
projected that, in a few centuries, the Plague would die   
itself out after expending all avenues of adaption on Earth,   
eventually turning on itself. The only solution to save the   
population of Earth, it turned out, was to place everyone in   
a state of cold sleep, in order to throw off the Plague's   
deadliness. 

For, if life on Earth was in slumber, they were already as   
good as dead, and that suited the Plague just fine. 

As I watched the Senshi's work at casting their great sleep   
spell, complete with cover weather to hide the magics, I   
realized there was one thing I had to do before I returned to   
my own time. 

Leaving unnoticed from the Tokyo Tower, I glided through the   
sky, careful to avoid any of the Sailor Senshi, should they   
see me moving about. 

There was precious little time, for, as I am effectively   
Sailor Pluto, I cannot time travel as most others can do. If   
only for the fact that I'd left Pluto's soul back in the future   
I could have stayed as long as I pleased; Pluto, by temporal   
law, cannot exist in the same time twice without repercussions,   
of which I had no desire to risk. 

I descended at one residence, finding one sleeping young man,   
lying on the floor, face-down. Immediately, I knew that this   
was one of many I was seeking. Waving cantrips in the air, I   
dematerialized his body, hiding it within my crystal ball. 

The reason for taking the body was simple: he will not be   
there when the world awakens in the Thirtieth Century. 

Before the Black Moon Kingdom was destroyed by the Moon   
Kingdom's Silver Crystal, there exist seventeen Knights of   
the Black Moon. For an unexplained reason, upon their deaths   
their souls were trapped in the Silver Crystal, perhaps due   
to the fact that the Crystal was ultimately used to destroy   
the kingdom. Later, when that artifact was used to reincarnate   
the royal court into the Twentieth Century, the Knights were   
reincarnated as well, into humans. 

As the Sailor Senshi before them, the Black Moon Knights   
are destined to return. All seventeen of them. 

Seventeen Knights, all servants of a civilization long gone   
forever. Seventeen powerful warriors, each complementing each   
other's strengths and abilities, proving the vanguard force of   
the Black Moon Kingdom in its heyday. Seventeen juggernauts   
that gave the rulers of the Black Moon the megalomania to   
challenge the Moon Kingdom and Queen Serenity, a venture that   
ultimately lead to their destruction. Seventeen disciples, of   
which to utilize in a new battle-- my own. 

The seventeen knights were in no way the equals of the   
Sailor Senshi-- of the Moon Kingdom, or of any solar system.   
No, the system to which the Black Moon belonged had no Sailor   
Senshi to speak of, as an imperfection in the white pearl. It   
was but one of many imperfections in this galaxy, but they had   
something the Senshi-owned systems did not have: self-   
sufficiency. 

With the Sailor Senshi in control, the system they governed   
over became complacent with the peace that they never strive to   
improve themselves; after all, they've 'already' reached that   
height in their utopias. In Senshi-less systems the inhabitants   
have had to rely upon themselves, and each other, to succeed, to   
survive. Without Senshi to 'protect' and 'nurture' them from   
harm, each individual was allowed the right to better themselves   
and to strive to goals beyond the stars. Individuals came to   
power of their own merits, and advances in science and technology   
were swift in the name of progress and betterment. 

This was mirrored in the civilization on Nemesis, with the   
Black Moon Family. There were no weak people, for, with each   
other, individuals grew strong and were driven to succeed beyond   
expectations. Even in their Byzantine politics the Family   
managed to unite into a formidable fighting force, and, with   
my guidance, was able to overthrow the tyrants of Crystal Tokyo,   
if for only a short while. It was done on the merits of   
individuals working for a common goal, and it was done as one   
mighty force, not a paltry handfew of strong. 

It was this that I admired most of the shattered Family. 

The Knights of the Black Moon, warriors from a long-forgotten   
civilization, would bring this trait back to humanity. By their   
example alone, they will prove to the lost humans that to   
falter in the drive to succeed will prove their undoing. 

Neo Queen Serenity shall be overthrown from her tyranny, and   
the course of humanity will be corrected. 

In a timely fashion I quickly found all seventeen Knights, all   
of which were in the Tokyo area, the same as with the Sailor   
Senshi. Producing the time key, I quickly slipped back into the   
Gate of Time, bidding farewell to my enemies for the next ten   
centuries. 

For, in the future, we will meet again.   
  


_Wiseman's Citadel on Nemesis, 30th Century_

Even though the whole of Nemesis had been raided by the   
bumbling parasites from Crystal Tokyo, they never found my hidden   
citadel, a construct I hid even from Prince Diamond himself. 

As I promised Sailor Moon after Vizier's defeat, I released the   
soul of Sailor Pluto. I was all too happy to comply; so long as   
I held her soul I was bound by the crutches Pluto had to suffer   
on a daily basis, and that is hardly what I needed. Not now. 

In time, a new Sailor Pluto will rise to take the former   
Guardian's place, and it will be as if she never perished, thus   
continuing the Guardian of Time's traditions. 

Being a time traveler from the future to the past, I finally   
realized that, no matter what I did in the past, it was set in   
stone because, for me, it had already happened. That is a law   
of temporal physics, it seems. However, there is something else   
to be said about the future.... 

Destiny may hold water in the past, but the future is still   
being made. 

In the audience chamber I fashioned of my own magics, I   
released the entrapped bodies and souls of the seventeen Knights,   
allowing them to materialize on the floor, still asleep from the   
spell. Though they should technically still be infected with the   
Chaos Plague, I made sure to purge it from their systems,   
absorbing it into the Black Crystal. 

Had I the opportunity to do so, I would have done the same for   
the rest of humanity, but the Senshi would never let it be, and   
I was still too weak to deal with them. 

With simple cantrips I undid the sleep spell binding the   
seventeen men and women, and, one after another, they rubbed   
their eyes, and sat up to awaken. 

"W...what is this place?" one wondered, looking around. 

"Who're you?!" demanded another. 

"I am the Wiseman of Nemesis," I introduced myself. "You   
seventeen have been chosen...." 

"What happened to the city?!" I heard clearly among the   
murmers. 

"...to be the saviors of humanity, and all Earth." 

"Hey, shut up! I want listen to what this guy has to say." 

If I had the capacity to smile, perhaps I would have as I   
nodded to the girl who spoke up. Apparently, her voice alone   
silenced the murmers and protests of the seventeen, and for   
that, I knew this girl was one to watch closely, with great   
expectations. 

I also knew this girl, for that matter, from my previous   
last day on Earth. 

I conjured an image window behind me. As the images of   
Earth passed through I heard the numerous gasps from the   
Knights. I allowed the picture sequence to pass to Crystal   
Tokyo, it's environs, then to the Crystal Palace itself. 

It was then that someone said, "My god! What is that?!" 

"Welcome to Thirtieth Century Earth," I said grandly. 

Allowing the words to sink in, I explained, "The last   
moment you should remember is an attack from the skies, in   
the form of a monstrous, out-of-season storm. That was but a   
facade, created to mask the work of the Sailor Senshi of   
Crystal Tokyo." 

The images in the window changed to punctuate on my words. 

"That was created in order for their leader, Neo Queen   
Serenity, to launch her vile scheme. She erected a Crystal   
Palace where the Imperial Palace once stood, then awoke all   
humans on the planet. But, before she could allow them to   
live in 'her' world, they must undergo a 'cleansing' under the   
light of her Silver Crystal-- give up weapons, ambition,   
greed, wealth, and so much more, in order to take part in   
her 'utopia.' Many refused, and a great war was waged across   
the planet, but in the end Neo Queen Serenity put down this   
'revolt.' Instead of killing her opponents outright, she   
banished them from Earth forever." 

"That bitch!" one man said. 

"But the banished ones and their descendents remembered   
their home well; they vowed to return one day to reclaim their   
planet from the invaders. And indeed, they did return, but the   
might of the Sailor Senshi and their Silver Crystal proved too   
much for them, and they were annihilated to the last man." 

"So how do we fit in all of this?" the lead girl asked. 

"You seventeen have been chosen from Earth's population to   
reclaim humanity," I told them. "You are all representative of   
what humanity has to offer, what it can achieve, and what it   
can defy. Those living on Earth are under the sway of Neo   
Queen Serenity, and are complacent and docile, content with   
their lots in life due to the effects of the Silver Crystal.   
Enslaved to the Crystal, without drive of their own. You   
seventeen have been chosen to bring humanity back to the   
human race." 

"Wait a sec," a pig-tailed man said. "Why in the world should   
we trust YOU?" 

I laughed. "Because I, too, have been banished from Earth,   
and it is our duty as humans to take it back."   
  


-------------------------------------------------------   
_Author's Notes_

The main reason I write Sailor Moon is one simple quote made   
by Wiseman in the anime that alluded to the fact that the Silver   
Crystal would "someday destroy this world." Though he was a liar   
when he needed to be, you can tell when Wiseman was lying; he   
sounded dead serious when making this statement, and had no   
good reason to lie, having killed Diamond and holding Sailor   
Moon by the throat. 

This is the supposed sequel to 'The Geometry of Shattered   
Souls.' At first I had no intention of writing another Sailor   
Moon fic, but there were a few points I wanted to address that   
were still bugging me (and I didn't cover in the previous fic).   
I really wanted to show just how evil Wiseman could be even with   
good intentions; after all, he is an 'unredeemable evil bastard.'   
I happen to like bad guys. 

Vizier was invented by me. He was named in the same fashion as   
the previous male Chaos Children; where the females were named   
after minerals, the males were named after proxies of a greater   
power. 

'Humanity' pops up in two forms in this fic: literal human   
appearance, and the qualities that make us human. Wiseman lost   
his human appearance, but retains his humanity; Neo Queen   
Serenity retains human appearance, but at the cost of her own   
humanity. So, both of them are inhuman :) 

Razorclaw X   
http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/sm/index.html 

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